UK govt to outline Tote plans by end of April

LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - Britain expects to outline its plans for the sale of state-owned Tote bookmaker by the end of April.

A government spokesman said an investment bank would be installed as advisor on the sale in the next two weeks and would be asked to come up with a shortlist of the most lucrative options by the end of April.

After years of deliberation, promises to the horse racing industry and a number of failed sale attempts, the government finally kick started an open auction of the Tote earlier this month.

It now has a three main options: selling the entire business, a piece-by-piece breakup or holding on to it until credit markets improve.

Having previously been valued at more than 400 million pounds ($805.6 million), analysts say the credit crunch and consumer spending worries have sapped the Tote's worth to anything from 200 million pounds to 350 million.

Despite borrowing worries of its own, privately owned Gala Coral is expected to among the front runners. Horse racing industry players have also put forward a new plan while football pools firm Sportech (ROD.L) has said it is keen to take on the Tote's pool betting operations. (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by David Holmes)